Current affairs

Queen Victoria dies on 23 January. She is succeeded to the throne by her son, Prince Edward, aged 60, who reigned until his death in 1910. The census results of this year show the huge changes that took place in Britain during her reign, revealing that the population of Britain had doubled in the past 50 years, to 38 million.

Art and science

The start of Pablo Picasso's Blue Period, in which he produces a series of paintings dominated by the colour blue and melancholic mood. Significantly, the period marks the transition in Picasso's style from classicism to abstract art. Beatrix Potter privately publishes The Tale of Peter Rabbit after it is rejected by six publishers.

International

The six colonies of Australia become a federation, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia remains a Commonwealth Realm. This year Australia also passes the Immigration Restriction Act, which limits immigration to Australia and forms the basis of the White Australia policy, a collection of historical legislation and policies designed to restrict non-white immigration to Australia between 1830-1973, although reforms against the policy were introduced in the 1940s.

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